Well, the Filner story is crawling out of the bag, and it is one ugly critter. His ex-fiancée, for instance, says that he was “texting other women sexually explicit messages and setting up dates while in my presence and within my line of vision." Yikes.
But there was worse. Donna Frye described how Filner kissed one woman on a public sidewalk, "jamming his tongue down her throat" and later groped her under her bra when she drove him back to his office. He apparently told one female employee that she “would do a better job on that floor if she worked without her panties on."
The article says that Filner has “all but dared his accusers to file formal complaints by promising a full investigation,” and that he continues to declare his innocence.
His supporters, all three or four of them, are insisting that he be accorded “due process,” which is certainly applicable to criminal charges, but not to political office and public trust. The man is scum, garbage, and he must leave office forthwith.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Well, That Was Elegant
Stewart-Haas Racing had a bad day. Tony Stewart was leading the race on the next to last lap and ran out of gas; finished 26th. Ryan Newman got collected by Kurt Bush when the latter dive-bombed a corner and slid up into him; finished 39th. Danica Packrick lost control of her car, couldn't find the brake pedal, and took out two other cars; one of which was her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse. Oops. She finished 37th.
Danica, bye the way, actually accepted the blame for this wreck. Of course, sometimes you just have to after you watch the replay. When no other car is within twenty feet of you...
Update, Monday AM: Well, she sort of took the blame. "I'm not sure if I misjudged the braking zone," she said, whatever the hell that means, "or if they stopped really quick in front of me," because race cars unexplanably "stop really quick" on the race track all the time. "It felt like they stopped really quick," she finished. "I tried to stop myself to keep from getting in the back of anyone, but I got sideways when I tried to do that."
Danica, bye the way, actually accepted the blame for this wreck. Of course, sometimes you just have to after you watch the replay. When no other car is within twenty feet of you...
Update, Monday AM: Well, she sort of took the blame. "I'm not sure if I misjudged the braking zone," she said, whatever the hell that means, "or if they stopped really quick in front of me," because race cars unexplanably "stop really quick" on the race track all the time. "It felt like they stopped really quick," she finished. "I tried to stop myself to keep from getting in the back of anyone, but I got sideways when I tried to do that."
No Racism Here?
Post on a liberal discussion blog titled "Check in if you're white and you think George Zimmerman should have been convicted of something." No fewer than 35 people checked in, none of whom were at either the event or the trial, who said that they were white and that George Zimmerman should have been convicted; that the jury, who heard weeks of evidence, was wrong in the conclusion they reached.
Note that the poster, who did ask for the opinion of anyone who is not white, is convinced that Zimmermen killed Martin because Martin was a person of color. I can't argue with him because I don't know why he did it. I was not there when he did it, I can't read his mind, and I was not at the trial.
Note that the poster, who did ask for the opinion of anyone who is not white, is convinced that Zimmermen killed Martin because Martin was a person of color. I can't argue with him because I don't know why he did it. I was not there when he did it, I can't read his mind, and I was not at the trial.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Hot Summer
Filner pledged Friday afternoon that there will be “a full, complete and independent investigation in response to any formal complaint against me.” He added that, “While I stand by my comments and pledge of yesterday to make changes to improve the workplace environment in my office, I am confident that a fair and independent investigation will support my innocence with respect to any charges of sexual harassment.”
So he is taking sexual harassment classes even though he is innocent of sexual harassment. All he did was “disrespect” women and lose his temper a few times. And again, there is the matter of that bridge in Brooklyn. The offer is still open. I’m telling you, such a deal I can make for you.
Nobody is buying his apology or his petulant denials here. Everyone who was calling for him to resign is still doing so, and more people have joined the chorus. The chairwoman of the Democratic Committee is calling a meeting, and will not speak on the subject until she gets a consensus from that meeting, but other than her, no public official of either party is speaking in Filner’s defense.
Filner’s Chief of Staff resigned yesterday, effective immediately, bringing the number of senior staff abandoning ship to four out of four.
It is going to be a long, hot, nasty summer in San Diego.
So he is taking sexual harassment classes even though he is innocent of sexual harassment. All he did was “disrespect” women and lose his temper a few times. And again, there is the matter of that bridge in Brooklyn. The offer is still open. I’m telling you, such a deal I can make for you.
Nobody is buying his apology or his petulant denials here. Everyone who was calling for him to resign is still doing so, and more people have joined the chorus. The chairwoman of the Democratic Committee is calling a meeting, and will not speak on the subject until she gets a consensus from that meeting, but other than her, no public official of either party is speaking in Filner’s defense.
Filner’s Chief of Staff resigned yesterday, effective immediately, bringing the number of senior staff abandoning ship to four out of four.
It is going to be a long, hot, nasty summer in San Diego.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Filner Plays Victim
In his "aploogy" Filner says that, "It’s a good thing that behavior that would have been tolerated in the past is being called out in this generation for what it is: inappropriate and wrong." He essentially claiming that, at age seventy, he is a victim of his generation.
I am precisely the same age as this asshole and guess what, I have never sexually harrassed women. I have never been inclined to sexually harrass women. It has never occurred to me in my adult life that it was even remotely permissable to sexually harrass women. The man is scum.
I am precisely the same age as this asshole and guess what, I have never sexually harrassed women. I have never been inclined to sexually harrass women. It has never occurred to me in my adult life that it was even remotely permissable to sexually harrass women. The man is scum.
Touching, Very Touching
I was deeply moved by Bob Filners heartfelt apology, and am thoroughly convinced that his promise to change is genuine and will be carried out in full. I also own a bridge in Brooklyn that I can sell you, this week only, at a bargain price.
He says that "my staff and I will participate in sexual harassment training provided by the city." Exactly why does his staff need to particiapte in that training? And why did he not participate in it before subjecting multiple women to the ordeal that they suffered.
He does not address his irrational feud with the City Attorney which has resulted in the city being no longer able to hold closed meetings. He did not address his bullying of a minority race Assistant City Attorney, ordering him to sit in the back of the room and finally having the police eject him from the room. He did not address his irrational feud with the Office of Tourism and illegally withholding their funding.
He did not address the "pay to play" extortion game that he engaged in with Sunroad Construction. Of course, once that became public he returned the money to Sunroad, so that wiped out the crime as if it never happened and he no longer needs to address that. And we're back to that bridge in Brooklyn again.
A leopard does not change its spots. Bob Filner is a thug and bully to the core, and he needs to resign now.
He says that "my staff and I will participate in sexual harassment training provided by the city." Exactly why does his staff need to particiapte in that training? And why did he not participate in it before subjecting multiple women to the ordeal that they suffered.
He does not address his irrational feud with the City Attorney which has resulted in the city being no longer able to hold closed meetings. He did not address his bullying of a minority race Assistant City Attorney, ordering him to sit in the back of the room and finally having the police eject him from the room. He did not address his irrational feud with the Office of Tourism and illegally withholding their funding.
He did not address the "pay to play" extortion game that he engaged in with Sunroad Construction. Of course, once that became public he returned the money to Sunroad, so that wiped out the crime as if it never happened and he no longer needs to address that. And we're back to that bridge in Brooklyn again.
A leopard does not change its spots. Bob Filner is a thug and bully to the core, and he needs to resign now.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The Filner Saga
It has been said that the only way for Democrats to win control of government was to let Republicans have control first; they would prove their incompetence so thoroughly that voters would elect Democrats in a landslide. I’ve always thought that was pretty silly, since Democrats have been demonstrating a very high level of incompetence in governance themselves, but based on the theory San Diego may have a Republican mayor in the near future, or at least a new one, as a result of having just elected a Democratic one.
Did you follow that? Okay, I’ll explain.
Bob Filner was elected last year and took office in January of this year. He immediately got into a major pissing match with City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, screaming at him in public meetings, because Goldsmith spoke to the public about city affairs. Filner claimed that the City Attorney serves the Mayor and speaks only to the Mayor and in confidence. Goldsmith says that he is elected by the people of the city and serves the people. Filner then cut the City Attorney’s budget by $500,000 while increasing the budget for everything else in the city. Later he had the police eject an Assistant City Attorney from a closed meeting, accusing him of leaking confidential information to the public.
Another major pissing match ensued, this time with the Office of Tourism, over payment of tax revenue generated by the hotel tax approved by voters some years ago. Filner wanted part of that funding to be diverted to pay for the Balboa Park Centennial celebration in 2015, and the Office of Tourism agreed to provide 15% of the receipts to that purpose. Filner withheld funding to that office because he didn’t trust them to actually pay the money, almost forcing the office to close down, and the money was finally transferred after three months of acrimonious battle between the mayor and the Tourism Board, which occurred at the beginning of the tourist season.
After several months working for Filner, his top two staff members resigned, citing “uncomfortable working conditions.”
Filner then went on a trip to Paris, France with his fiancé and refused to say who was paying for the trip, other than to say that the city was not, and claimed the trip was to “secure jobs for San Diego,” which convinced only the most loyal Democrats. He was, of course, on the city payroll at the time, and officials are not allowed to accept gifts over $400, so the matter of who was paying for the trip was of some importance. He finally admitted that the trip was paid for by an Iranian non-profit group.
It later turned out that he had two city policemen with him for security, so the trip did cost the city something like $22,000 but that somehow doesn’t count, or something.
A story then emerged about a construction company applying for a zoning variance which Filner denied. The construction company then donated $100,000 to a couple of Filner’s pet projects, after which Filner reversed himself and granted the variance. When asked, the construction company said that their understanding was that the variance was granted in return for the donations. Filner claimed that if there was a deal it was made by his assistant, who had resigned several months earlier, and gave the $100,000 back to the construction company. The construction company continues to assert that he made the deal directly with Filner.
Early this week Filner’s fiancé broke up with him, saying in her announcement that their relationship had “devolved.” Yes, I’ll bet it had, especially in light of what followed.
Filner is now facing charges from several women of sexual harassment while serving as mayor, and is being called upon by Democratic leadership to resign at once. That includes several people who were major supporters during his campaign.
Bob Filner is living proof that Democrats will vote for anything with a D after its name. He is a nasty piece of work and this behavior is nothing new; he has been a thug and a bully for his entire career in politics. San Diego got what it voted for, and this guy is a perfect example of the folly of partisan politics.
PS: Don't blame me; I voted for the other guy. Carl DeMaio, to be precise.
Did you follow that? Okay, I’ll explain.
Bob Filner was elected last year and took office in January of this year. He immediately got into a major pissing match with City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, screaming at him in public meetings, because Goldsmith spoke to the public about city affairs. Filner claimed that the City Attorney serves the Mayor and speaks only to the Mayor and in confidence. Goldsmith says that he is elected by the people of the city and serves the people. Filner then cut the City Attorney’s budget by $500,000 while increasing the budget for everything else in the city. Later he had the police eject an Assistant City Attorney from a closed meeting, accusing him of leaking confidential information to the public.
Another major pissing match ensued, this time with the Office of Tourism, over payment of tax revenue generated by the hotel tax approved by voters some years ago. Filner wanted part of that funding to be diverted to pay for the Balboa Park Centennial celebration in 2015, and the Office of Tourism agreed to provide 15% of the receipts to that purpose. Filner withheld funding to that office because he didn’t trust them to actually pay the money, almost forcing the office to close down, and the money was finally transferred after three months of acrimonious battle between the mayor and the Tourism Board, which occurred at the beginning of the tourist season.
After several months working for Filner, his top two staff members resigned, citing “uncomfortable working conditions.”
Filner then went on a trip to Paris, France with his fiancé and refused to say who was paying for the trip, other than to say that the city was not, and claimed the trip was to “secure jobs for San Diego,” which convinced only the most loyal Democrats. He was, of course, on the city payroll at the time, and officials are not allowed to accept gifts over $400, so the matter of who was paying for the trip was of some importance. He finally admitted that the trip was paid for by an Iranian non-profit group.
It later turned out that he had two city policemen with him for security, so the trip did cost the city something like $22,000 but that somehow doesn’t count, or something.
A story then emerged about a construction company applying for a zoning variance which Filner denied. The construction company then donated $100,000 to a couple of Filner’s pet projects, after which Filner reversed himself and granted the variance. When asked, the construction company said that their understanding was that the variance was granted in return for the donations. Filner claimed that if there was a deal it was made by his assistant, who had resigned several months earlier, and gave the $100,000 back to the construction company. The construction company continues to assert that he made the deal directly with Filner.
Early this week Filner’s fiancé broke up with him, saying in her announcement that their relationship had “devolved.” Yes, I’ll bet it had, especially in light of what followed.
Filner is now facing charges from several women of sexual harassment while serving as mayor, and is being called upon by Democratic leadership to resign at once. That includes several people who were major supporters during his campaign.
Bob Filner is living proof that Democrats will vote for anything with a D after its name. He is a nasty piece of work and this behavior is nothing new; he has been a thug and a bully for his entire career in politics. San Diego got what it voted for, and this guy is a perfect example of the folly of partisan politics.
PS: Don't blame me; I voted for the other guy. Carl DeMaio, to be precise.
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